


A Commander's Insistent Author

by MightyWolves23



Series: Fated Across the Stars [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, CC-1010 | Fox is a Good Bro, Clone Troopers Speak Mando'a (Star Wars), Drunkenness, F/M, Female Reader, Force-Sensitive Reader, Fox doesn't have good coping skills, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Mind Control, Mando'a Language (Star Wars), Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Reader knows nothing about Star Wars, That's Not How The Force Works (Star Wars), Time Travel, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved CC-1010 | Fox, no y/n, non-graphic injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28929120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MightyWolves23/pseuds/MightyWolves23
Summary: She wanted nothing to do with this war. The Force may have brought her here but that doesn't mean she had to help.She was just minding her own business, writing her stories, when she was ambushed by three other women and was introduced to a world she could only imagine.Then Fox came along and stole her heart with his kindness despite what he was going through. He showed her just how truly awful things were and would continue to be unless someone does something.So she sucked it up and thought about helping the three women from Earth.Then Fox got injured. Then she got attached. Then she got mad and swore vengeance on the monster who hurt Fox.No one would touch her Commander and his brothers. Not if she has any say in it.Must read other stories first. 1. A Captain's Stubborn Jedi. 2. A Commander's Mysterious Singer. 3. A Commander's Annoying Traveler. Or this wouldn't make sense.
Relationships: CC-1010 | Fox/Reader, CC-2224 | Cody/Reader, CC-3636 | Wolffe/Reader, CT-7567 | Rex/Reader
Series: Fated Across the Stars [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069607
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	A Commander's Insistent Author

**Author's Note:**

> So... long time no write? 
> 
> I have two confessions. One, I've never actually seen all of the Clone wars so... if Fox is a little OOC then that's on me but I hope you adore my version of him. (He's a total sweetheart)
> 
> Two, I am a sucker for Jango Fett and his backstory in the Star Wars Legends 'verse. I kinda go on a rant here in a part of it. In my opinion the Jedi fucked up with that whole mess and I am 100% on the side of the True Mandalorians. If you can't already tell, I love the Mandalorians. They deserved better. 
> 
> 14,000 words? I'm like wtf?! These just keep getting longer and longer. This took me a good two days to write. Plus, I have a friend who is dyslexic, and I spent all afternoon today reading her this series. She loved it and laughed so hard at some points I was worried she was choking. 
> 
> As usual, I used "She" instead of "You" and didn't use an actual name. 
> 
> Mando'a here and at the end. 
> 
> Al'verde - Commander
> 
> Su cuy'gar, Al'verde - Hello Commander. (lit. You're still alive, Commander)
> 
> Cyar'ika - Darling or Sweetheart
> 
> Or'dinii - Moron, fool
> 
> Hut'uun, Kry'tsad - Cowards, Death Watch
> 
> Ret'urcye mhi, Ner Kar'ta - Goodbye my heart (lit. Maybe we'll meet again, my heart.) 
> 
> Kar'ta - Heart
> 
> Ner Kar'ta - My heart
> 
> Gar. Bid pel. - You. So soft. 
> 
> Nayc, gedet'ye - No, please. 
> 
> 'Lek - Yeah
> 
> Jetii'kad - Lightsaber
> 
> Shebs - backside, rear
> 
> Di'kutla - Stupid
> 
> Vor entye - Thank you (lit. I accept a debt)
> 
> Mesh'la - Beautiful
> 
> Chakaar - Thief, petty criminal
> 
> Cyare - Beloved
> 
> Alor'ad - Captain

She knew she had a… not quite a stalker. Maybe a crazed group of fans? 

It wasn’t entirely unheard of. She had heard of things like that back on her home planet. Oh, Earth was a lovely place. Especially, with all the literature there was in its rich history. From Shakespeare and Jane Austen and the Bronte Sisters to J.R.R Tolkein and L. Frank Baum to even Disney and its stories of an ice queen and her sister. 

Some stories were easily adaptable. Just switch a species here, maybe a planet instead of a city there, and boom! You have a story about a Nautolan teenager who met some other species and fell in love against her father’s wishes and went to see a ‘witch’ and got the… Yeah, you get the picture. 

Back to the not-a-stalkers. She knew she had gotten some requests to meet with her not-a-stalkers. They were very polite according to her agent. 

Her agent was a lifesaver. Before she met them, she was living in a shit apartment after getting a shit job at a library somewhere in Coruscant. She had arrived in this universe (or galaxy or whatever you wanted to call it), back when she was only fifteen. She was ripped from her family and friends and dropped into this weird place with no money, no family, and no possessions. All she had was the Force. 

She wasn’t an idiot. She knew exactly what world she had fallen into. Star Wars was kind of a big thing on Earth. You had to be either extremely sheltered or an idiot to at least not know of the series. 

She knew about it thanks to her sibling. They were obsessed with it and continuously gave her little bits and pieces about it to know enough to get by. 

She wanted nothing to do with this war. Maybe that’s why she hid from this galaxy and wrote stories. 

She could feel herself being followed and watched. Every time she stepped outside her little apartment, (that she bought with the royalties from her books) she could feel at least one person following her. 

It was making her paranoid and fearful. But she gritted her teeth, pushed down the emotions, and focused on her life. She did have a quiet little life. She wrote her books and occasionally went out for coffee with her agent or some other acquaintances. 

She tried hard to ignore the war. She wasn’t very successful. Everywhere she turned there was some kind of propaganda of the war. Chancellor Palpatine giving ‘encouragement’ on a video here, a news report on Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi there. 

A small ding caught her attention. She looked up as a group of women entered the cafe where she was. They were joking and laughing. Two of them seemed to be picking on the third one playfully. 

She sighed and stared at the tabletop. She didn’t know why it was so hard to make friends. She tried but things always fell apart. She was too… different. 

The three women sat at the table next to her. 

“You guys are so mean.” The one with the knitted hat crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Hey, you are the one dating Wolffe. That guy is a little… rough around the edges.” The woman not wearing a robe type thing teased the third woman. “According to Cody, you and Rex are the worst when it comes to PDA and Wolffe and you are the least.” 

The one wearing Jedi-like robes scoffed. “And you and Cody… I’m sorry... your  _ Al’verde _ are not? You, who when we first met, teased the poor guy so much that he left the bar with you slung over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes?” 

That made her perk up. There were no potatoes in this universe. They were called tubers, weren’t they? 

She listened closer. 

“What can I say? I’m an exhibitionist. Ooh! Let me tell you of the time that I had a nightmare about Cody and ended up screaming his name in my sleep. He woke me up and said that he heard me and didn’t want someone to get the wrong idea.” The second woman gave a fond smile. “The next day, after Cody spent the night in my bed because he claimed he wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t, General Kenobi told me to keep the noise down next time and then proceeded to congratulate Cody on it. As if making me do that is a great accomplishment. Please. Men. Mars would be strange enough.” 

She tuned out the rest of the women’s words as what they just said reached her ears. 

PDA? Potatoes? Mars? That settled it! She had to know these women. 

She turned in her seat. “Excuse me? I think we are from the same planet. Do you mind um…” Here in her words, she faltered. 

“Well, it’s about time!” The second woman spoke loudly. “How many hints did you need?” 

She shrunk back. “I’m sorry?” 

The hatted one sighed. “Ignore her. Hi.” She introduced herself and the two other women. “I think we need to talk. Do you understand what is going on? Where exactly we are?” 

“Not one hundred percent. My brother…” She trailed off as a sad look came across each women’s faces. 

“The Force brought us here. And we need to do something about that.” The Jedi stood up. “Do you know where 79’s is?” 

“No.” She leaned back as the three others all surrounded her. 

The Singer gave her a slip of flimsy with a number on it. “That’s my private com number. Contact me and I can give you a lift to the bar. We’ll meet tomorrow at one in the afternoon. I would push it out more but these two go back to the frontlines in about two days and they have a lot to work on. I stay here on Coruscant the whole time so if you need something, I’m the best one for you to contact.” 

She accepted the flimsy with some amount of confusion. “Okay?” 

“Come on girls. I need to get to a meeting at the temple and I know you have to meet with your record label, Miss Swift.” The Jedi led the two others out of the cafe shop. 

She stared down at the flimsy with extreme bemusement. “That was strange.” 

*****

The next day arrived and she wasn’t sure if she had really met three other women from Earth or not. All she had was the flimsy with the com number on it. 

She pulled out her own private com and punched in the numbers. She took a deep breath and called out to the hatted woman. 

It beeped for a few seconds before she answered. _ “Hi. What’s up?”  _

She sat down harshly in a chair. They really were real. They really were from her home planet. Tears sprung to her eyes. 

_ “Hey? You okay?”  _

“I’m here. I’m fine.” She took a deep breath in and let it out. 

_ “I know. It’s almost unreal. You spend all that time alone thinking you were the only one and then suddenly others are here and they understand and know things that you think would be forgotten. Well, I can come to hang out with you this afternoon? I can be there around noon and we can head out to the bar at one.”  _

“That would be amazing. Thanks.” She sighed. “I live near the Senate Building. Just a few levels down from it.” She exchanged information on where she lived. 

“ _ I gotta go. I got a slight… issue to deal with. You’ll be okay?”  _

“Yes. See you at noon.” She hung up and looked out her window. Something important was going to happen. 

For the rest of the morning, she spent cleaning her apartment. Empty and abandoned teacups were deposited in the sink and scrubbed thoroughly. Her computer where she wrote her stories was stashed away in a drawer. Her windows were fixed to let in a bit of sunlight. 

Everything was perfect. She set about making a couple of sandwiches and pulling out some cold drinks. The milk here was blue. Blue milk. It didn’t even come from a cow. It tasted weird too. Nothing like she had ever had before. 

The doorbell rang and she hurried to answer it. “Hi.” She greeted the hatted woman by name. “Please come in.” 

“Thanks.” The hatted woman stepped into her cozy home. “This is a nice place.” 

She accepted the compliment with a smile. “I made some food if you are hungry. It’s not a big meal, it’s just sandwiches, but I hope you like it.” 

She felt awkward as the other woman sat down at her table and they began to eat. 

“How long have you been here?” The other woman started the conversation. 

“Ten years.” She answered with a wistful smile. “My little brother loved this series. He could go on for hours about it. I never saw it though.” 

“Me neither.” The hatted woman then asked where on Earth she was from and the conversation was off. 

The food was quickly finished. When she brought out the milk both women made faces and they laughed. 

She put away the milk and got out some popular kind of soda. They sat on the couch discussing where they were from and their careers here in this world. 

The Singer’s watch beeped. “Shit! We have to go or we’re gonna be late and trust me, you do not want to be late with those two. Fuck!” 

The startled a laugh out of her. It was almost charming the way this woman cussed. You wouldn’t expect it from her is all she was going to say. 

The Singer pouted. “Why does everyone do that when I cuss? It’s so annoying. I don’t understand it. Wolffe even calls me something when I do it. Every time I cuss he laughs and calls me that name.” 

“Wolffe?” She frowned as she was pulled to her feet. 

“My… partner? Calling him my boyfriend is too immature. I think I would actually die of embarrassment if someone called him that. No, Wolffe would go all ‘Commander of the GAR’ on them and would kick their ass first.” 

Her shoes were soon on her feet and she was ushered out of her apartment and down the hall to a waiting speeder. 

“Commander? Wait? Are you dating a stormtrooper?” She nearly ran into the Singer’s back as the woman stopped in her tracks. “One, they are not stormtroopers. So don’t call them that. Two, don’t call them clones either. I know they  _ are _ clones but it’s become a bit of a cultural slur against them. Call them just plain troopers or even by their name if they choose to give it to you.” 

“What?” She was confused. “Why wouldn’t they give me their name?” She climbed into the passenger seat of the Singer’s speeder. 

On the way to this bar, she was informed of the way these brave men were treated both where they were from and here and now. 

She grew horrified. “And people just let this happen?  _ They _ let this happen?” She flung her arm out at the Senate building. 

The Singer nodded tightly. “Yes. It’s worse than slavery. This Republic is majorly flawed, and, if it wasn’t what was keeping these men here and fighting, I would have helped to overthrow it a long time ago. These men believe in the Republic with everything in them. So don’t mention anything I told you to any of them.” 

“Why are you telling me all this?” She clutched the side of the speeder as the Singer moved them down deeper into Coruscant. 

“Because,” The Singer pulled to a stop in a parking tower. “We are going to one of the only bars on Coruscant that will serve the men and there are going to be some in the building.” The Singer hopped out of her transport and stared off at something in the distance. 

“Hey, are you okay?” She touched the other woman’s arm. 

“Huh? Oh. I’m okay. I just thought I saw something. It’s gone now. Ready to meet the others?” 

****

79’s was like any other bar in the universe. In this one and she would bet others. The bar top looked cleanish but she could see stains here and there. Booths were scattered along the walls, a large empty space was cleared for some dancing, and what looked like a futuristic jukebox played songs so the bar was never quiet. 

Clones sat in booths or at the bar. No. Not clones. Troopers. She reminded herself. Troopers. 

She was led over to a large booth in the back. The Jedi and the other woman already sat on the worn seats with drinks in front of them. 

“Hey. Sorry, we’re late. Traffic.” The Singer sat down and scooted into the seat on the Jedi’s side. That left the spot by the other woman free for her. 

She sat down and slowly scooched into the booth. 

“What do you want to drink?” The Jedi flagged a droid working as a waitress. 

“I’m good.” The Singer waved the droid back off. 

“I don’t drink.” She spoke up. All three women swung to face her. “What? It’s my personal choice.” 

“Alright? Now. Anybody got any ideas on where to start with the ESB?” The Jedi seemed to start this meeting. 

“The chips are a must.” The other woman spoke up. “I don’t want them anywhere near my  _ Al’verde _ .” 

“What about maybe taking him straight on?” The Singer spoke up. 

She was horribly confused. “Excuse me? What exactly is going on? Who are we taking down and what do chips have to do with your… green? Green what?” 

The Jedi slumped in her seat. “You told us you knew what was going on.” 

“And I told you not one hundred percent.” She countered. 

“Let me ask this. Have you seen anything of Star Wars? Any movie, tv-show, book? You’re an author. You must have read some books.” The last woman who she didn’t know very well shot her a wide-eyed look. 

“Sorry no. I knew of it and enough to get by because of my brother but, honestly? I’m lost.” She watched as the woman let out a huge moan and drop her head to the table. “I’m surrounded by newbies. Basically shinies to what’s going on.” 

“We will tell you more later. It’s not safe here. But basically, we are taking down an Evil Sith Bastard whose reign of terror lasts for three generations and completely wipes out the culture and way of life for many species.” The Jedi swirled a straw with the Force. “And we all can do things like this. You do know you have the Force right?” 

“Yes. I knew I have the Force and I want nothing to do with-” 

“Oh no he didn’t!” The Singer leaped up and marched over to a group of four troopers who have different color armor. She spotted grey, orange, blue, and red. 

The Singer stalked straight up to the orange one and yanked off his helmet. “Wolffe!” She nearly hissed. “What do you think you are doing?” 

She followed behind the other two women as they made their way over to the troopers. 

The Jedi stopped behind the grey painted armor. “Rex.” Her tone was full of reproach and disapproval. 

The last woman paced behind the blue-painted one. “ _ Su cuy’gar, Al’verde.”  _ She nearly snarled. “What are you three doing here?” 

“I told you it wouldn’t work.” The red-painted one calmly took off his helmet. 

“Wolffe wanted lunch,” Rex spoke calmly. “We didn’t mean to show up here,  _ Cyar’ika.”  _

“So you decided to switch armor. Not even your own armor at that.” The Jedi stared at Rex as the trooper tried to explain. 

“Vod, stop it. You’ll only dig us deeper.” The blue one set down his own helmet. Or not his helmet. 

She stepped back as she watched her three sort-of-friends ‘talk’ to their men. She bumped into the red-painted one. 

“Oh. Sorry.” She apologized. “I didn’t see you there.” 

“It’s alright. I’m used to it.” He didn’t move his eyes away from his three brothers getting reprimanded by their partners. A slight smile quirked up the side of his mouth. 

She introduced herself to the red trooper. 

“Fox.” The man turned back to face her. “How’d you get roped in with them?” He nodded his head towards the three women. 

“They sort of ambushed me at my favorite cafe and we’re all from the same planet so…” She shrugged as she watched the one called Wolffe make a smart-ass comment and got smacked on the arm by the Singer. 

She and Fox winced at the same time. She fell into a companionable silence as the three men got chewed out for spying. 

“Where do you come up with your ideas?” 

The words startled her. “Oh, um… some of them are stories from my homeworld. Others I just had in my head and I decided to write them down.” 

“If those are stories from your homeworld, I might like to go there someday. You’ll have to tell me about it later.” Fox pushed off from the wall and moved over to his brothers. “Come on,  _ or’dinii. _ We all have things to do.” 

She watched, her interest peaked, at the sight of the red and white trooper pulling his brothers up and ushering them from the bar. She wondered why exactly she felt this attraction to him. Then she saw the way he shoved Wolffe through the door, not roughly, but with hidden carefulness, to the point that it almost looked completely natural to make sure your little brother doesn’t smack his head against the doorframe. 

She smiled a small smile at the sight. He was an amazing older brother. 

Before her thoughts turned down a path that would cause her to blush horribly, she was brought back to the conversation from before. 

“I can’t believe them. Spying on us. Urgh! Men. No matter what species they are or how they were made they always seem to-” The one that spoke in another language when she greeted her guy ranted. 

“Hey. Take a deep breath.” The Jedi placed her hands on the other’s shoulders and steered them back to the table. 

“We are never letting them live this down, right?” The Singer plopped down onto the booth. “They switched armor on us and not even their own! As if that would stop us from sensing exactly who they are.” 

“Who’s armor were they wearing then?” She spoke up trying to figure this all out. 

“Well, Wolffe’s color is supposed to be grey and Cody’s is orange.” The Singer answered first. 

“Rex is blue.” The Jedi piped up. She was rubbing circles on the last woman’s back to calm her down. 

“Cody must have snatched Boil’s armor and gave it to Wolffe.” The last woman mumbled into the table. 

“And Wolffe snagged Boost’s and gave it to Rex.” The Singer sighed into her hands. “I recognize the placement of that wolf.” 

“And Cody was wearing Kix’s armor. That medic symbol was fairly obvious. How Rex managed to take his armor without him knowing or giving permission I’ll never know. Kix isn’t the type to go along with situations like this.” The Jedi removed her hands and sat back in the booth. “Okay. We have me, a Jedi. She, a Gray Traveler. She, a famous musician and you a famous author. You two have no clue about any of this and are not trained in the Force. She is somewhat trained and I am a Jedi Knight.” The Jedi moved her hands around as she talked. “What is the Force up to? If it really wanted the ESB taken out, why didn’t it make all of us Jedi? It would have been so much easier.” 

“Speak for yourself.” The Traveler sat up and glared. “Do you know how massively flawed the Jedi Order is?” 

“It’s not that-” The Jedi protested. 

“Here we go.” The Singer mumbled to her. 

“I have three words for you. Jango Fett and Galidraan. That whole situation is fucked up and the Jedi messed up big time.” The Traveler was getting worked up. “Mandalore would be different and maybe those  _ hut’uun Kyr’tsad _ would be taken care of it if your precious Order hadn’t karked up so fucking badly.” 

Both the Jedi and the Traveler glared at each other. 

“Guys can we please not do this.” The Singer interrupted. “We get that you are on the side of the True Mandalorians and if Jango were still alive he would undoubtedly make you one based on your defense of him, but he’s dead and there is nothing we can do to change the past. Galidraan did happen and there is nothing we can do, so, can we drop it and move on. I know you have a meeting at the Jedi temple in a couple of hours and we still need to come up with a plan.” 

The two ladies forced their gazes back to the both of them. 

She sat back in the booth watching them all. She thinks she finally understood what was happening and she was done. “You want the four of us to take on a trained Sith Master all by ourselves? With no backup?” 

The three other women all nodded at her. 

“A highly trained one who is probably going to have multiple backup plans and contingencies in place should they ever be discovered and who doesn’t care who they hurt or kill to reach their goals?” 

More nods of confirmation. 

“Sorry. I’m out.” She stood up and gathered her things. 

“What?” The Jedi sat back in shock. “But… you can’t!” 

“Nope. I can and I will. I want nothing to do with this.” She made to head towards the exit but a hand clamped onto her wrist. 

“The Force brought you here to change things. Can’t you feel it? Don’t you want to save them?” The Jedi’s eyes were wild and desperate. 

“No. I can’t feel it. Why would I want to help something that ripped me from my family and friends and my life back on Earth? I was going to make something for myself there. I had love and happiness on Earth.” To her horror, she felt tears spring to her eyes at the memories of her best friends and parents, and little brother. “I can’t even feel this so-called Force and have never used it in the time I have been here. I just want to go home so  **let me go** .” She poured everything she was feeling into those words. To her surprise, the Jedi let go of her wrist like she had been burned. 

She turned and nearly ran from the bar. She was ignorant of the shocked looks on the three women and the thoughtful turn the Jedi’s thoughts had taken. 

********

It had been three days since her meeting with the three other women from Earth. The Singer had tried to contact her every night since then but she blocked her number this morning. None of them had tried coming by her apartment. 

Didn’t the Singer say something about the other two going back to the frontlines soon? Is that where they are and why they weren’t trying to bust down her door to get her to join some kind of crusade thing to save a bunch of people who think treating the men fighting for them like slaves is a good thing. 

She stepped outside of her apartment for the first time in three days and decided to go for a walk. It was a nice day out and ever since that disastrous meeting with the three Earth women, she had been feeling... something. Little nudges in her mind to accept the Singer’s calls and little urges to go outside. 

Today she couldn’t ignore it anymore. It was so loud in her mind that it felt like actual words were being spoken. 

**_Go! Now! Hurry!_ **

So she had put on some shoes and headed out onto what passed as streets here. She strolled down the duracrete walkways at a fast place until the feeling went away. She slowed to a stop in front of an almost rundown building. The sign outside proudly declared it the Coruscant Guard offices. 

The feeling was back and was urging her through the front doors. 

She sighed and stepped through the mechanical swishing doorway. 

The lighting was dim. Lamps had been placed here and there trying to bring some brightness into the lobby. Shabby chairs had been obviously cleaned up and placed around the room. A desk sat in front of a hallway leading back into equally dim rooms. 

She was appalled by the treatment of these men. The dim lighting was terrible for reading. It ruined your eyes and made you nearly blind. She didn’t want to even mention what repercussions it would have living in it day in and day out. 

She paused in the middle of the grouping of chairs. A lone trooper was manning the front desk. A humanoid being was making a scene and demanding to see someone ‘better and in charge of this sorry looking building’. 

She saw red. How dare this person say that? She marched right up to them. “Excuse me?” She spoke sweetly. “If you think this place is sorry-looking, please feel free to donate anything you wish to make it and these men’s lives better. Because they are trying as hard as they can and people sometimes don’t make it easier on them.” 

The person floundered for a response. 

“I was just going to give them a bunch of chairs I have come into owning. Do you want to add in some tables?” She ignored the person’s sputtering and turned to face the wide-eyed trooper at the desk with a sweet smile. “Hi.” She introduced herself by her pen name. 

Judging on the way the being’s eyes bugged out they knew of her. She ignored them. 

“Can I please speak to Fox? I don’t know his rank. All I have is his name.” She waited as the trooper fumbled things on his desk. 

“Sure. I’ll call the Commander right now.” The trooper picked up the phone only to drop it and salute as Fox made his presence known. 

“No need.” Fox eyed her. He greeted her by name. “Scaring off people from their business here. Should I be worried?” 

She felt bad. “I’m sorry. I just heard the way that… that…” A word her brother told her was insulting to this universe came to mind. She couldn’t remember what language or what it meant exactly. Her brother loved the Mandalorians though, so maybe it was their language? 

She almost spoke it when a gloved hand came down on her shoulder, derailing her train of thought and making her cheeks blush. 

“Thank you.” Fox inclined his head towards the hallway. “Did you need something here?” 

“Ah. I was just… I needed…” She sighed. “I was just passing by when I felt like I needed to come in here. I saw what was happening and I just got so angry. I’m sorry for scaring off whoever that was.” 

Fox stayed silent. “I was just heading out. Would you care to join me?” 

“Sure.” She followed behind the red and white painted Commander. The doors swished closed behind them. 

They walked side by side down the duracrete walkway, heading towards the Senate building. 

Fox was silent until he spoke gruffly. “You don’t have to do that. We are just fine on our own.” 

“Do what?” She wrinkled her nose. 

“The chairs,” Fox explained. “We are fine on our own.” 

She set her jaw. “Sorry, Commander. But I insist and not for the reasons you think. I made that comment offhand but I never break a promise.” 

Fox winced when she called him by his title. “Just Fox, please. Commander makes me feel… like I’ve done something wrong.” 

She smiled. “Is that like the equivalent of someone using your full name? For example back home, my friends and family would say,” She put one finger out like she was shaking it at a naughty puppy. She spoke her full name warningly. She then turned to face Fox who was not laughing. 

“I don’t have a full name like that. It’s just Fox. None of us have second or third names like you do. Why do you have names like that?” Fox diverted from his path down an alley. 

She slowed to a stop. “Uh… Fox? What’s down there?” 

Fox backtracked to grab her bare hand in his gloved one. “Do you trust me?” 

“I literally just met you.” She protested. 

Fox said nothing and just waited for an answer. 

She thought back to the care he showed his brothers. How he made sure that Wolffe was unharmed even as he shoved him through a door, how he made sure the trooper at the front desk was alright even if he didn’t lay a finger on him. 

“Alright.” She took a step forward into the dingy alleyway. She looked back at the fading sunlight before spinning to face the man in front of her. “But if I die, I have the right to become a ghost and haunt you.” 

Fox snorted and laughed a bit. “Don’t be so dramatic. I certainly won’t kill you. My men would have to arrest me then.” 

She raised an eyebrow at him. “So, you do what exactly that your men would arrest you on charges of murder?” 

“Me and my men police the planet and take down any Separatist plots here.” Fox opened a gate and led her through it. 

She stopped as soon as she was inside. “Are we supposed to be here? This looks like a private garden.” 

Flowers bloomed around her. Flowers she had no name for. There were blue ones and purple ones and even a green bud that she couldn’t explain. The ‘grass’ was blue in shade and spread between what looked like marble pathways. 

“It’s alright. The owner is fairly nice to us and lets us come here whenever we want.” Fox encouraged her to take a few more steps into the lush garden by lightly tugging on her hand. “If we don’t hurry, we are going to miss it.” 

“Miss what?” She allowed Fox to lead her to the edge of the garden. The railing was almost completely overtaken by vines. “What are we waiting for?” 

“Almost time,” Fox muttered. 

She watched as the sun sank past the buildings in the distance and the moons came out in the sky. 

A glow lit up behind her and she spun to face it. She gasped. 

The green buds she mentioned earlier, well, they weren’t buds anymore. Glowing petals lifted their faces to the moons as the light shined down on them. Traces of yellow shown in bizarre patterns before shifting to different colors. There was blue and orange and gray, green, yellow, purple, red, all the colors she could name and then some. 

“Wow.” She gasped at the beautiful sight. “This is… amazing.” 

“The person who owns this garden is from Pantora. Pantora is a moon that orbits an ice planet. They rarely get sun because their star is so far away. So, they make do with these. The Senator says that at a certain time of year, they bloom every night.” Fox idly stroked his thumb across her knuckles. “Do you have something like this on your planet?” 

She dearly hoped that the blush on her cheeks was hidden. “No. We have nothing this beautiful.” 

“Tell me about your world?” Fox led her over to a marble-like bench enclosed by the glowing flowers. 

She began hesitantly but picked up speed describing the different geographical areas and world-famous landmarks. Like the pyramids in Egypt and the Amazon Rainforest in South America. 

They talked for hours. Slowly the luminescent flowers lost their shine and curled back up into buds. The Coruscant sun began to rise over in the distance. 

She yawned. “We were up all night?” 

“I’m sorry.” Fox was quick to apologize. “I didn’t want to stop and your world sounds so fascinating.” 

“Fox.” The sound of his name seemed to make him freeze. 

She reached out and initiated contact for the first time. She laid her bare hand on his bare cheek. 

Fox made a choking sound. 

She smoothed her thumb over his cheekbone. “I don’t mind. I pull all-nighters sometimes when I’m writing or reading. I know how to handle being awake all day when I’ve been up all night. It’s no problem.” She smiled at him. “Besides. We talked about more things besides my home planet.” 

She took her hand away. She looked out at the rising sun. She missed Fox’s slight clearing of his throat. 

“We should probably head back.” Fox grabbed her hand and led her out of the garden, through the gate, down the alley, and back to the Coruscant Guard offices. “Do you know how to get to your home from here?” 

“Yes.” She gave in to the urge and gently kissed his cheek. “Thanks for showing me that place.” 

Fox seemed to have frozen for half a minute before clearing his throat. “Right. Would you…” 

She waited for Fox to gather his thoughts. “Would you mind having lunch with me? There’s a cafe a few levels down that is pretty good.” 

“Sure.” She stepped away from Fox. “Goodbye, Fox. See you soon.” 

She almost missed his words had they not been carried on the breeze to her. 

_ “Ret’urcye mhi, Ner Kar’ta.”  _

She wrinkled her brow. That was a different language. She knew that. But what exactly was it? 

A feeling of dread welled up in her as she walked away from the Commander. She just knew she wasn’t having lunch with him today. 

She shivered as something that felt like freezing black ice lashed across her back. What was going on? Maybe… maybe she would join up with those women. If only to save Fox. That was a good enough reason for her.

****

As soon as she entered her apartment, she dialed the Singer’s com. 

_ “Hello? Wolffe, stop. This is important.”  _

“Tell me exactly what is wrong with the Senate and why they allow people to treat the men that are dying for them the way that they do.” She demanded. She was fed up with all the secrecy. 

_ “So, you are finally coming around?”  _ The Singer sounded hopeful. 

“Tell me. Now.” She nearly barked out. 

_ “Not over the coms. I can be there in thirty minutes… uh… make that an hour and thirty minutes.”  _ The Singer sounded flustered. 

She sighed and looked at the time. “Fine. You better explain everything.” She hung up without a goodbye. 

Something in the air was making her furious. She didn’t know what it was, but she was getting pissed. 

After slamming a cupboard door so hard it fell off its hinges, she swore and slumped against the counter. 

“Help? Someone?” She whispered. She was tired of fighting against the anger and stress mounting in her body. 

As if it was waiting for her plea, the Force swarmed around her like a heated, weighted blanket. Soft and comforting. 

She sighed and her shoulders relaxed. All the tension drained from her body and her eyes drooped. 

She shook herself awake and did a few jumping jacks in the middle of her living room before making herself a cup of caff. She hesitantly put one on for the Singer. 

It was two hours after she hung up on the Singer before she knocked on her door. 

“Hey, sorry about being late. Wolffe is getting suspicious. He was like a dog with a bone with the questions. Don’t be surprised if he shows up here. When I got all this explained to me, it took about four hours to go through everything. I have nothing planned today except writing some music but I’ve already done that ages ago in preparation for Wolffe being on leave for a few days. He leaves tonight with Jedi Master Plo Koon back to the frontlines.” The Singer entered her apartment, sporting a scarf and taking off her hat so her striking and recognizable hair flowed around her shoulders. 

The Singer collapsed on her couch gingerly. 

She brought over the cup of caff she had kept warm for her guest before sitting down in the armchair across from her. “Start talking.” 

“Well, the Chancellor is the Sith Master we are going to be stopping. Believe it or not, this is not the war that Star Wars is named after. It might be one of the many wars in it, but not the main one…” 

Between sips of her caff, the Singer explained all she knew about Palpatine’s plan and the destruction it would cause. 

“What about the Jedi? Wouldn’t they stop him?” She interrupted. 

The Singer frowned. “No. According to the other two, the men have microchips in their heads that will cause them to turn on the Jedi. I don’t know how or what exactly they do. They kind of go on protective rants about personalities and how they can disappear. And something about not letting it happen before it devolves into Mando’a cursing out of Palpatine.” 

“Mando’a?” She tried to distract herself from the horrible realization sneaking up on her. 

“Yes. It’s the men’s own language. Their creator was Mandalorian.” The Singer took a sip of her caff. 

“What about Fox?” She asked desperately. 

The Singer choked on her mouthful of caff. “Ex-excuse me?” She coughed. 

“Are you alright?” She made to get out of her chair. 

The Singer waved her off. “I’m fine. Why do you want to know about Fox?” 

She hoped she wasn’t blushing. “We… kind of went out last night? I mean, it wasn’t planned or anything. I was just walking because the Force nearly mind-controlled me out of my apartment and I stopped by the Coruscant Guard’s offices and came across this person treating one of the troopers just horribly. I scared them off and Fox saw the whole thing. We went for a walk and he showed me a special place and we just stayed out all night. We just… talked.” 

“You talked? All night? For over twelve hours all you did was talk?” The Singer arched an eyebrow at her. 

“So what? Not all of us are horny bitches who have men that have been with them for ages.” She was defensive. She only met Fox once before this. She was not that easy. 

The Singer's eyes widened. "That's not what I meant! I'm not implying you are easy! I'm just saying based on what I have seen of Fox, he's not much of a talker. That's why I asked. Because twelve plus hours of talking for him sounds out of character." 

She relaxed. "Honestly? I did most of the talking. Or we just sat in silence before he had another question about Earth or wanted to hear something about my stories." 

"That sounds more like the Fox I know." The Singer bit her lip before speaking again. "Hey, I know Wolffe is worried and I bet that the others are too and when I ask the other women they just look at me with pity and won't say anything, but I don't think Fox is alright. I know Wolffe is really worried. Is there anything you know of that will help him?" 

That dangerous sense of foreboding came back. She looked at the Singer with pity. 

"There! That's the look! Why do you look at me like that?" The Singer waved her hand around in a gesture at her face. 

She opened her mouth to tell her, her suspicions about Fox. She snapped it shut as a brisk no-nonsense knock came at her door.

The Singer sighed. "Please can he stay? I'll clean up after him and give him food and water." She gave her baby kitten eyes. 

She stood up and went to open her door. 

"No talking about us being from a different universe and all that stuff. They don't know and we would like to keep it that way for now." The Singer warned from the couch. 

She smiled tightly. "We'll just have to bore him with girl things then." 

The knock came again a little impatient this time. 

She opened it with a smile on her face. "Hello. Wolffe, right? Please come in." 

***

Her heart ached. Something was wrong. Something was majorly wrong and she didn't know how to fix it. 

Before her guests had left her apartment, the Singer had given her the Jedi's com number. 

"For emergencies only. She might not answer right away but if you leave a message she will get back as soon as she can." The Singer had told her firmly. The Singer had given her a fond smile. "It might not be much, but for what's it's worth, you are my friend. And you can be happy here." She left soon after those words. She took her suspicious overgrown wild dog named man with her. 

She had set about ordering some new desk chairs for the men on her computer. If she added in a bright lamp or three, well, she loved to shop. 

The afternoon passed quickly. She shopped, cleaned a bit, and worked on her latest book. Well, she at least tried. The closer the sun swung towards the horizon the more she felt like something was wrong. 

Soon enough the Force was urging her to leave again. 

She slipped on her coat. It may be spring on this planet but the nights were still a bit cold. She locked up her place before following the Force’s nudges. 

At first, she thought the Force wanted her to go to the Coruscant Guard’s offices but nope. It led her back to that alley with the garden. Well, she was pretty sure it was the same alley. 

She tentatively headed down the dimly lighted path between two buildings. She thought she was going all the way to the garden. She was wrong. About halfway down, a figure was sitting hunched against the wall.

“You shouldn’t be here,  _ Kar’ta.”  _ Fox’s voice came from the dark. 

“Fox.” She breathed. Relief filled her body and mind. She hurried over to him and dropped to her knees next to him. 

“It happened again.” 

His distraught whisper broke her heart. 

“I can’t remember. Why can’t I remember?” Fox raised something to his face. “I’m defective. I know it. I can’t even lead my men right. I have to have help. Cody doesn’t have this problem. Neither does Wolf’ika.” 

She nearly snorted at badass Commander Wolffe being called this childish sounding term of endearment by his older brother. 

“They can lead their men all by themselves. Plus, they aren’t stuck planetside doing a thankless job of serving the people here and making sure they are safe.” Fox continued to ramble. He put something near his mouth every so often. 

She knew it was probably bad timing, but she reached out and touched Fox’s arm. “Thank you, Fox. For working so hard for these stupid people who don’t even deserve it.” 

“And then, there is you.” Fox sounded awestruck. “ _ Ner Kar’ta. _ ” 

His gloved hand grabbed her’s and lifted it to his face. He pressed her palm to his cheek and sighed.  _ “Gar. Bid pel. _ ” 

She tried to move her hand away but a clatter of a bottle later and Fox was bringing both hands up to cup her’s on his face.  _ “Nayc. Gedet’ye.” _

She eyed the bottle shining in the dim light and gave an inaudible sigh. He was at least intoxicated. Enough to speak in what she was beginning to think was his first language. 

She didn’t know what he was saying but she needed him to come home with her to sleep this off. 

“Fox.” She brushed her thumb over his cheekbone. Fox’s amber eyes fluttered shut before opening to look at her. The pleading in them was intense. Her heart melted. “Fox. Can you stand?” 

Fox shook his head. Her trapped hand moving with his movement. He paused after two shakes before slowly moving her hand from his face. Now, it was trapped in one of his hands. He used his free hand to push himself up. 

She caught the little pained grunt he let out. He nearly buckled back to the ground, but she wrapped her arm around his waist and helped him to stand. 

She ignored the red shining liquid on her hand and forearm as much as she could. Fox let out a pained wheeze. 

“We need to get you to a medic.” She helped him take a few wobbly steps. 

“ _ Nayc. Nayc. _ ” Fox shook his head. 

“Fox. I don’t have the equipment to deal with this big of an injury at my home. I wouldn’t even know where to start. Please.” She lit on an idea. “I’ll stay with you. The whole time. I will not leave your side, I promise.” She bargained. “Will you let me take you to your medic?” 

Fox looked pained. They reached the mouth of the alley before he responded.  _ “‘Lek.”  _

“I won’t leave you.” She promised. “I swear.” 

She managed to get him into the lobby of his office before he collapsed. 

The front desk was empty. “Help me!” She shouted down the hallway. “Somebody help!” 

Footsteps ran down the hallway. “What can I… Commander!” 

The trooper dropped to his knees next to his Commander. He spoke into a coms, barking at someone to ‘hurry to the main room. Quick. It’s the Commander.’ 

“What happened?” The trooper glanced at her long enough to let her know he was serious before tending to his Commander. 

“I don’t know. I was going for a walk when I found him. He’s been drinking and I don’t know how long he had been bleeding in that alley. He’s got some kind of wound on his side.” She wrung her hands as the trooper stripped off Fox’s armor. 

More troopers came down the hall with medical supplies. She sighed in relief as they lifted him onto a stretcher and a medic began treating him. They carried him down the hall. She moved to follow but the first trooper blocked her way. 

“No! Move! I promised him I would stay with him! He didn’t want to come here!” She tried to go around the trooper but he flung out an arm to stop her. 

“Ma’am, wait! I can take you back there before he wakes up but he at least needs a few days in a bacta tank from what I saw and felt. You have time.” The trooper tried to soothe. 

She glared at the trooper. “I promised him I would not leave him. I don’t break my promises.” She sagged. “Please. I need to be back there now.” 

The trooper seemed to debate on what to do in his head. “Fine. Come with me.” 

She eagerly followed the trooper as he led her down the darkened hallway. She gave her name to the trooper in hopes that he would give her his. All he did was a grunt in response. 

“Hey, what does  _ Ner Kar’ta _ mean.” She hoped she pronounced that right. To her, the last word sounded like how you say carrot in Italian. 

The trooper made a shocked, choking noise. He froze in his steps. “Where did you hear that?” 

She frowned. “Fox. I told you he had been drinking and those words was all he would call me when I spoke to him. He wouldn’t call me by name.” 

The trooper just stared at her. Well, she thought he was. He had his helmet on, so she really wasn’t sure. 

“Have you met Commander Fox before today?” The trooper sounded like he was aiming for casual. He didn’t quite succeed. 

“Yes. I have. We met at 79’s when the other Commanders acted like idiots and spied on my friends and me. Then we met again yesterday and we talked for most of the night.” At this point, she was exhausted. She had been up for over twenty four hours or whatever passed as a day cycle on this planet. 

The trooper was silent. “I think I’ll let the Commander tell you what it means.” The trooper pushed open a door. 

It was the most brightly lit room in the whole building. Or so she assumed. Lamps were on every surface and gurneys were laid out side by side. A couple of large bacta tanks were shoved away in the back. 

Some beds were occupied, so she held back her cry of horror. She walked quickly over to Fox’s tank. The man had welts on his back like a whip and a particular deep slice was curled around his side like the whip had slashed and held on. 

She pressed her hand to the glass. “Fox.” She held back the whimper that wanted to escape. She grit her teeth. 

Palpatine had done this. She just knew it. He wouldn’t get away with this. She was joining those women and she was going to take him down. For all these men and for Fox, who had his mind erased and didn’t even know what was happening to him or why. 

“I will defend you,  _ mon amour. _ ” For the first time since she arrived, she murmured words of affection in her first language. 

A different trooper brought over a chair for her. He silently put it down next to the tank before moving away without a word to her. 

She sank into it gratefully. Her eyes drooped but she fought to keep them awake. Her love needed her. Because she did love him. Even though this was their third meeting and she never put that much stock into ‘Love at First Sight’, she loved this man. This broken and confused and caring man. 

Or maybe that was just her exhausted mind talking. She rested her head on the glass, pressing her forehead as close to him as she could manage. Her eyes slipped closed as she slumped against the glass tank holding her Commander. She fell asleep, keeping a promise to a hurt man. 

She didn’t know that she impressed some troopers. She didn’t know that she was found out as an author that some troopers loved very much. She didn’t know of the whispers that started, all because of an innocent question and a little bit of eavesdropping. She didn’t know. She just didn’t know. 

***

Voices are what drew her back to consciousness. 

“Is that really her? The one who wrote the book about-” 

“Shhh. Vod, you’ll wake her up. You’ve heard what happened. The Commander was out all night and from what she told Letters, she was out with him too. She probably is exhausted and I don’t think she knows what it’s like to go days without sleep. She is a civvie.” 

“Oh. Sorry.” Their voices grew quieter. 

“Don’t stop on my account.” She yawned as she sat up. Her back ached from being at that angle all night. 

“Sorry, Ma’am.” One of the men spoke up. “We didn’t mean to wake you.” 

She turned to them with a slight smile. “It’s fine. I needed to get up anyway.” She stood up and did a few stretches. She placed her hand on the glass as she studied Fox. He was still under heavy sedation, but his wounds looked better. Most of the welts had faded away and that deep one on his side seemed to be fading to a pink scar. 

She settled herself back in the chair. Her com beeped. She looked at the message written to her. It was from the Singer expressing concern for her. She saw the missed comm calls and sighed. She typed out that she was fine, just sleeping. She asked when the next time the two other women were going to be on Courscant was and if all four could meet up at her home. 

She got no reply. The Singer must be busy. 

She put her focus on waiting for Fox to be released from the bacta tank. 

A commotion around noon caused her to look towards the entry way. Two clones were arguing to be let into the room. One was in yellow armor and the other was in purple. 

“Let us in. Fox is our batchmate.” The one in yellow snarled. 

The medic threw up his hands. He began to speak in Mando’a with glances towards her. She turned to face Fox. 

Soon, the two Commanders made their way to her. Two squeals reached her ears as two chairs were pulled to her sides. 

“So… you are the one who found Fox?” The one in purple on her right asked with an even tone. 

“Yes. I was out for a walk and I found him in an alley.” She didn’t take her eyes of Fox’s form. 

“I wish I knew who is doing this to him.” The one in yellow to her left muttered angrily. “I’d like to take a  _ jetii’kad  _ to their  _ shebs _ .” 

She snorted at the thought. “You and me both.” She murmured. Palpatine was going to get it. She swore this to herself. It didn’t matter that she didn’t understand the words being spoken. The meaning was clear to her. 

Both clones started and stared at her. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.” The one in purple spoke up. 

She gave her name absently. 

“I’m Ponds.” The one in purple turned to face Fox. 

“I’m Bly.” The one in yellow was eyeing her but she didn’t care. “Have you eaten?” 

“I’m not hungry.” She turned to look as someone spoke up against what she said. 

“No. She hasn’t eaten all day.” It was one of the medics. “I’m tempted to kick her out and force her to eat something but I know she will just make a fuss.” 

She scowled at the medic. “I promised I wouldn’t leave him and I stick to my promises. He didn’t even want to come in here. I had to promise that for him to even come with me. And then he kept speaking in a different language calling me  _ Ner Kar’ta _ ,” 

The two men beside her choked in shocked breaths. 

She rolled her eyes. “And none of you will tell me what it means and you keep making those noises every time I bring it up. Plus, I’m worried and scared and pissed off at the person who dared to do this to him.” She closed her eyes against the tears. “And I need to be here. I won’t leave him alone. I’m not going to let him wake up alone or be alone ever again.” 

Bly and Ponds seemed to be studying her. What she said seemed to be met with some approval because they fell into a comfortable silence. 

“Have you heard what Wolffe, Cody, and Rex did?” Bly spoke up after a bit. A hint of amusement wafted off him. 

“No. I’ve been out of touch for a bit.” Ponds seemed exasperated. “What did our  _ di’kutla  _ brothers get up to this time?” 

Despite the insulting sounding word it was spoken with fondness. 

“Well, I heard this from Boost after a campaign on Felucia with the 104th. Apparently, Wolffe stole Boost’s armor and Cody stole his second’s armor and Rex stole his medic’s armor.” Bly began. 

“What for?” Ponds sounded confused. “Don’t they have their own armor?” 

“The idiots stole them and switched them around all so they could see what their women were up to. Because, according to Wolffe, they have been secretive and hiding things.” 

“I believe Wolffe was wearing orange, Rex was wearing gray and Cody was wearing blue.” She spoke up. 

Both Commanders froze. 

“It’s how I met Fox.” She smiled at the memory. “I was meeting with some friends, which turned out to be their ‘women’ as you put it.” She gave a tight smile to Bly. “We were discussing some things when,” She spoke the Singer’s name fondly. “Literally jumped out of her seat, stalked over to Wolffe, and yanked his helmet off. I wanted no part of that conversation because Rex was being not very smart and kept making them seem even more guilty instead of innocent like he wanted. Cody tried to get him to stop but…” She shrugged. “I just stepped out of the way, bumped into Fox, and we hit it off.”

She studied the glass tank in front of her. 

“Then you must know what’s driving Wolffe crazy about the secrets his girl is keeping.” Ponds sounded like he was ready to interrogate her. 

Her shoulders tensed. They were getting into dangerous territory here. “Yes, but it’s not my place to tell. I will give you this… All four of us are from the same planet and all four of us thought we were the only ones here because no one can access our planet. Our planet is forever lost to us. We can never go home. So yeah, we cling to each other because that’s all we have. I doubt there are any more of us in this galaxy.” 

“You never know.” Bly tried to be comforting. “There could be others out there. It’s a big galaxy.” 

She wasn’t so sure but she wasn’t willing to push the issue either. 

At some point in the afternoon, Bly got up and left. He came back holding three packages of food. He tossed one at Ponds before handing one to her gently. 

“You might want to eat something before you pass out. Trust me, you don’t want to pass out here. The medic is one incident away from making you either eat or sleep.” 

She took the packet and ripped it open. She ate mechanically at the dry bland tasting food. 

About evening, both Ponds and Bly left. They wished her goodnight before leaving the medbay. 

She waited. She fell asleep again next to the bacta tank. She woke up in a gurney that was pulled as close to the tank as possible. Maybe they did like her? She didn’t know. 

  
  


***

It ended up being three days before the medics pulled Fox from the bacta tank. They made her step from the room as they washed the smelly goop off him and dressed him in clean clothes. It was only for about thirty minutes and she used the time to run home and snag a quick shower. Four days without one and she needed one desperately. 

She was thankful she lived close enough to the barracks that she could go, take a shower, and be back by the time they were settling him on a gurney. 

She sat in the chair by his bedside as they gave him some medicine through an IV to slowly wake him up. She was relieved she could touch him now. Bare hands met bare hands as she clutched him desperately. 

She waited for three hours before Fox woke up. 

It started slowly. A twitch here and a soft groan there. Soon, his eyes shot open. 

“Hey. Calm down. You’re alright.” She soothed. 

_ “Ner Kar’ta? _ ” Fox moaned. 

“I’m here.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m right here.” 

The medics swarmed at that point. She sat quietly and held Fox’s hand as they poked and prodded him. 

“I’m alright.” Fox shoved their hands away with his free one. 

“With all due respect, Commander. No you are not. You came in here with whip marks on your back and sides and I want the name of the person who did this to you. The Guard has a score to settle.” The head medic spoke up with harsh concern. 

Fox winced. “I can’t- I can’t remember.” 

That caused another round of interrogation. She could see Fox was getting fed up at the various questions being thrown at him. She stood up and whistled sharply. All four medics, half the patients in the room, and Fox let out visible winces. 

“That’s enough!” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the medics. “Honestly, you four should know better. He just woke up from being submerged in a bacta tank for  _ three _ days.” She stressed. “Three days of being in practically a coma. Give him a chance to sort himself out and don’t crowd him. I know you are concerned. Who wouldn’t be, but back off and give him some space.” She plopped back down by Fox’s side. She ignored the thoroughly scolded medics and smiled at him. “See? I told you I wouldn’t leave you.” She spoke softly. 

“ _ Vor entye, ner Kar’ta,”  _ Fox murmured back before squeezing her hand. 

She dared to reach her hand out and smooth the wet hair back off his forehead. Fox sighed and his eyes slipped closed. She hummed as she kept stroking his hair. 

Somehow, the Commander weasled his way into her heart and stole it. With his quietness and caring way towards his brothers. She vowed yet again to take down the monster that was hurting this amazing man. 

Palpatine would not survive this war. 

****

It took three months before all four women were back on the same planet for longer than a day. 

During that time, she had grown closer to the Commander. Fox had three more incidents where he said he was going to meet her and never showed. She always found him after, either by a Force guided walk or one memorable time of Fox showing up to her apartment drunk and nearly crying because he thought himself defective and he was worried that he would be reported for it. 

She stayed by his side the whole time, quietly seething at the atrocities Palpatine dared to do. 

They were dating. She knew that. They would go back to the garden sometimes or they would go out to a nice little sandwich shop that served the men and they would eat. 

She spent more and more time with the Singer, learning about this universe and discussing what would happen. One day, while listening to Fox describe some battle plans, an idea hit her. 

She knew how to take down Palpatine. She called an urgent meeting the next time all four of them could take a break. 

It was scheduled for tomorrow. Tonight, she was playing hostess to the Singer and Wolffe. Fox was not there tonight. 

She had prepared an Earth-style dinner with the ingredients she could find in this galaxy. Spaghetti was always a crowd favorite. 

The Singer enthusiastically ate the ground nerf meat she used. “What kind of meat is this? It’s delicious.” 

“It’s just ground nerf meat.” She shrugged. 

There was silence from the other side of the table before Wolffe burst out laughing. 

“What’s wrong?” She frowned at the weird look on the Singer’s face. It looked a mix between disgusted and longing. 

“She doesn’t eat meat. Especially nerf. She won’t even eat a nerfburger.” Wolffe explained between chuckles. 

She shared a look with the Singer and sighed. “You know what they say about picky eaters.” 

“I know, I know.” The Singer grumbled. “They waste away. But seriously… it’s nerf!” 

She shrugged. “You have to at least try something once. If you don’t like it, either swallow or spit it out.” 

Wolffe made a choking noise. 

She glared and flung her napkin at Wolffe. “Stop being dirty Commander.” She ordered. “Save that for your own home.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” Wolffe grinned. 

After dinner, Wolffe moved around her living room as the Singer and her sat down to talk. 

The Singer made an exasperated motion to Wolffe before sighing. 

She smirked. “I have it on good authority that Fox still calls Wolffe, Wolf’ika.” 

Wolffe made a wounded noise and nearly knocked over her teacups in the cabinet. 

“Hey, you break, you buy.” She gave Wolffe a pointed look. 

Wolffe carefully placed the teacup back on the shelf. 

“Thank you.” She waited a moment. “Wolf’ika.” 

She and the Singer laughed at Wolffe’s betrayed look. “I’m going to kill him.” 

“Don’t worry. He only does it when he’s drunk. He’s a very affectionate drunk.” She assured him. 

“Fox doesn’t get drunk.” Wolffe spoke at the same time as the Singer. 

“I’ve never known Fox to get drunk.” 

The joy and laughter fell from her face. “Yeah, well, I’ve only seen him four times since I met him and even then it was extremely distressing circumstances.” She gave a pointed look to the Singer. 

The Singer nodded slightly. “Well, I’m about beat. What do you say we head home, Wolffe? I just picked up some of those pastries you like. The ones from the bakery on the corner.” 

Wolffe perked up. “The ones with the berries?” 

“Yes.” The Singer gathered her hat and sunglasses. 

Wolffe made one last adjustment to her teacups before closing the glass door. 

“Bye. I’ll see you tomorrow with the other two.” The Singer hugged her before leaving out the door with Wolffe. 

She sighed when they left and began putting away things for the night. She wondered why Wolffe seemed so interested in her china cupboard and teacups but decided to let it rest for the time being. 

Tomorrow dawned a clear sunny day and soon, the four women were gathered around her living room. 

She outlined her plan to them. They all agreed eagerly. They went over it with a fine-tooth comb, before someone (the Traveler) brought up that they needed a codename. 

She was feeling upbeat at the camaraderie between the four of them and decided to let loose. 

"Guys, we should just call it Plan Touchdown. Plan TDEB whatever takes too long and is a mouthful. Plus, we could use it as a motivator. If we win… touchdown!" She waved her hands in small circles. 

Three sets of eyes stare at her. 

"Did you seriously just do Jazz Hands and use a football reference to demonstrate a very important operation?" The Jedi sounded incredulous. 

"What if we don't win?" 

All eyes swung to face the Singer. 

"What? I'm being realistic." 

"No. You are being a pessimist." The Traveler sighed and stared at them all. "One, if we don't win, this galaxy gets plunged into darkness and it will last for at least three generations at the bare minimum. Anakin Skywalker's grandchildren do not escape this war. Plus there is also the fact of our men having their minds wiped and killing every Jedi on sight and losing who they are. I think Wolffe and Rex are the only ones who escape. And I refuse to have my  _ Al'verde _ become a mindless stormtrooper. So… you bet your sweet ass we are going to win." 

There was the sound of breaking glass and swearing below them. Then there was a pounding knock on the door. 

"Open up  _ Mesh'la _ !" 

"I know you're in there  _ Cyar'ika _ ! Open the door. We need to talk!" 

The four women exchange looks. 

"Who checked for bugs?" The Jedi looked around at everyone. 

"I thought she did." She pointed at the traveler. 

"I didn't because I thought you did." The traveler looked at the Jedi. 

"Open the door,  _ Chakaar _ . Now!" 

"Oops?" The Singer glanced around. "Who's gonna let them in?" 

All eyes swung to face her. 

"What? Me? But I-?" 

"Am the only one who's man isn't here. Get the door before they break it down." The Traveler swung her feet up on the coffee table. 

She kicked them down as she got to the door. "Hello? Can I help you?" 

"You have some explaining to do,  _ Ner Kar’ta _ ." Fox's steely amber gaze met hers. 

*** 

The men sat in shock at the news they just heard. 

"So you four…" Rex began.

"Aren't even from this universe, yes." The Jedi answered. 

"And all this time you knew…" Cody sounded as shocked as Rex. 

"About everything, yes." The Jedi answered again.

"And we're trying to stop it." The Singer piped up. 

All eyes swung her way. 

"Plus, those two are the ones who know everything." She moved her finger between the Jedi and the Traveler. "I knew a little because of one of my siblings and she knew nothing until they explained it to her." She jammed her finger in the Singer's side. 

"Ow! Bitch!" The Singer rubbed her side and leaned into Wolffe. 

Wolffe snorted breaking the silence. "I'm sorry, run that by me one more time? We all have what in our heads that will do what to our generals?" 

"The Sith are trying to wipe out the Jedi. Jango Fett hates the Jedi because of something they did to his family. Jango willingly became cloned to kill the Jedi in revenge. Each and every clone has a little microchip in their heads that, when the Sith Master gives an order, you have to obey. It forces you to do it. The orders range from getting rid of your communication devices to completely wiping out what makes you, you, and you will turn on the Jedi claiming they are traitors and will kill them. In the future we saw, only a few Jedi survive. General Kenobi was one of them but Cody was lost. Rex managed to escape with Ahsoka Tano and Wolffe's I think was damaged due to head trauma and he was only under for a while. He spent the rest of his life trying to save as many of the Wolfpack and others as he could." 

The men looked sick. 

"But we're trying to stop that!" The Singer protested. "We won't let that happen to you." 

"But theoretically it can happen?" Rex shot a look at the Jedi. "I could be forced to.." 

" _ Cyare _ , look at me." The Jedi got to her knees before him. "I swear on my life I won't let that happen." She cupped his cheek and began murmuring to him in Mando'a. 

"Don't," Rex choked out. "Don't you dare use that to swear on." 

The Jedi stood up. "Then what would you like me to swear on. We are only four women. Three of us are untrained in the Force and one of us was stupid enough to call it a 'Presence' and hardly trained at all. That leaves only me and maybe her to take on a trained Sith Master all by ourselves." She waved a hand at the traveler. 

"No. You are not just four women. I don't know what he did to my head but you are not going in there alone. I am coming with you." Fox's eyes burned with deep-seated hatred. 

"Me too." Rex met the gaze of the Jedi. "You are not going in alone." 

"Rex I can't -" 

Rex stared at the Jedi and they went into a staredown. 

"So…" The traveler clapped her hands together. "What do you have to say, Cody?" 

"What exactly is your plan?" Cody sat forward. 

"Well, she was going to have a distraction at one entry point. She's working on having a concert at the Senate or something. We need a crowd. Something huge with lots of people." The Jedi turned from Rex reluctantly. She pointed to her. "We were going to have her do a book signing or something like that on another entry point while she and I," here the Jedi waved at the Traveler. "Took on the Evil Sith Bastard on our own. The exits will be blocked but we are worried about him killing civilians if he does get past us." 

The three commanders and one captain look at each other. 

"What's our day of action?" Cody asked while not looking at anyone. "How far out can we push this?" 

"I'd say about a year? Once Padme Amidala becomes pregnant we are looking at nine months at the most." The Jedi tapped her chin. "It might be eight months because twins always come early." 

"That's oddly specific. Why her and why that amount of time?" Wolffe frowned as he pulled the Singer into his arms. 

The four women look at each other before looking at Rex. The Jedi plops down on his lap gently. 

"Because on the day his children are born, Anakin Skywalker falls to the Darkside and becomes a Sith. He's being groomed to take the place as the Sith Master's apprentice. On the day his children are born, the council finds out about the ESB but they are too late. Before anyone can do anything, the Sith gives the order to the clones and while Jedi all across the galaxy are dying, Anakin falls and takes the 501st to kill everyone in the Jedi temple. No one is spared. So… we have to stop this. I won't let this happen. And I'm sorry but I refuse to have you or Fox in there while we are fighting him. One word from him and you will be gone like that." 

"Not if our chips are gone." Cody put forth. For the first time since he entered the room, he looked at the traveler. "You say we have a few months? I say we get as many unchipped as we can. We do that and you will have your crowds but they won't be civilians. They will be hundreds of highly trained men who know the risks of what's going on and will be willing to be there." 

"Also, you said you've been trying for a concert?" Wolffe faced the singer. When she nodded he looked thoughtful. "How serious are you about your career,  _ Mesh'la _ ?" 

"I could be happy with not having it. Ever since I became well known I have been saving money. I don't need all this and pretty much only bought the apartment I stay at for my 'image'. I own it outright so even if I lost all my money I could get a low paying job and still have a home to sleep in." She turned to face Wolffe. "You have your scheming face on. What is it?" 

"How serious are you about fighting for our rights?" 

The Singer's eyes lit up. "Deadly. Oops. Sorry. Bad choice of word. I mean a rally type thing or a concert type thing?" 

"Depends on what a rally is?" Fox put in. "If it's a disturbance, my men will be forced to be there." 

The four women all shared looks. "A rally it is." 

She let out a hysterical high pitched giggle. "Sorry. Sorry. Don't mind me. I'll just be off having my little book signing while hundreds of troopers are going to be on the other entrance protesting for their rights while I am most likely to be killed by an Evil Sith Bastard when he fights his way through my smallish crowd and…" 

"What makes you think there won't be troopers at your end?" Fox blinked at her. 

"Yeah. How do you think we found you? If it weren't for Kit we probably never would have even heard of you. You have more fans with the troopers than you even know." The traveler must have realized how her words sounded and she quickly backtracked. "I mean, we would have found you earlier but I don't read books and she doesn't have time to read and she probably doesn't read either." She pointed at herself, then the Jedi, and then the Singer. 

"Hey! You're so mean!" The Singer protested. "You're all so mean! Okay, Force thingy or whatever you are, I take back my wish to have friends who know what milk and a cheeseburger is supposed to taste and look like." 

"Sorry, sweet cheeks, no take-backs." The Traveler stood up. "Okay. Is the planning session done for now? No further comments? Good. Come on  _ Al'verde _ . We need to talk. Shorty, we're taking your guest room." 

"Don't make a mess! If you do the nasty you're cleaning my room. Both of you! I mean it, Cody. I will make you do it!" She yelled after them. 

The Traveler just waved her hand at her before shutting the door. 

"So… anyone wants a drink?" She stood up. Her hostess instincts kicking in. 

"Not this time. Sorry. I think we need to head out." The Jedi stood up. "See you around. We ship out in the morning." 

A loud bang came from her guest room. All eyes swung towards the hallway. 

"Yeah… I'm not staying either." The Singer stood up. "You know how to reach me if you need me. Thanks for having us over even if we did get a few unexpected guests." 

She side-eyed Wolffe who gazed back at her unrepentant. "You were spending too much time with them. Cody was wondering if you were more interested in each other or us." 

"Oh. Cody was? Are you sure it wasn't Rex or Fox? Maybe Bly was wondering too." The Singer looked at Wolffe fondly when he did nothing to confirm or deny the accusations. "Come on, Wolfman. Let's go. Bye! See you next week." 

With a wave of her fingers, the Singer and Wolffe left the apartment. 

Rex and the Jedi were locked in a battle of wills.

"We're leaving too." The Jedi hugged her tightly. "Be safe. I'll see you later." 

"I feel like I should be saying that to you. You are the one fighting a war." She bit her lip as she whispered. 

"We all are fighting a war. Just because you are on Coruscant does not mean you are safe. You do know you have a Sith here right?" The Jedi hugged her again. "Be safe. Be strong. You are the closest one to him. Listen to the Force. Don't lose sight of the light side." With those words, she pulled back. "Come on  _ Alor'ad _ . We need to have a talk." 

Without looking back the Jedi grabbed a hold of Rex's arm and dragged him out of her apartment. 

She left her with only Fox for company. 

Another thud came from her spare room. She winced. And who could forget the Traveler and Cody? 

"Want to go for a walk?" She looked up at the Commander. 

***

The cold air bit at her cheeks as she strolled down a path near the troopers’ barracks. 

Fox was by her side. "Is… did he really… am I…?" 

She stopped in her tracks as what Fox was trying to say hit her. "I'm so sorry. If I could I would have-" 

"No! I don't want to even think of you near him!" Fox let out a guttural noise. “It just… it explains a lot. I would meet with him and hours would pass and I would only think it was minutes. There are spaces where memories should be but there’s nothing. I felt like I was defective or something but to find out that it was him who was messing with my head and making me do who knows what. It's…” 

She wrapped her arms around Fox as the Commander began to break down. She led him away from the main walkway to a side alley. “Shh. I’m so sorry.” She tried to soothe him by talking. She hugged him tightly and held him as Fox let loose years of pain. When it seemed to be tapering off she reached up and cupped his face in her hands. She wiped his cheeks with her thumbs. “I’m not letting you go through that again. I will never let you go through that again and if I need to take lessons from Rex’s Jedi on how to use the Force, I will. Because... Fox? You will never have to face him alone again.” She lit on an idea. Something so cliche and classic in any spy movie or book that was ever written on her world. “Call me.” 

“What?” Fox frowned. 

“When you have to meet him alone, call me. Call me and leave your com on. I’ll record everything going on and you will know what’s going on and what you did. I will give everything to you later when you come back home because I want you to live in my apartment. I-” She paused and bit her lip. “I don’t want you alone and I kind of don’t feel safe in my apartment. Not with everything going on. Not with him so close.” 

She glanced at the Senate building before her gaze was captured by her Commander. 

“ _ Ner Kar’ta _ .” He whispered some words in Mando’a. 

“I don’t speak Mando’a. If you want me to know what you said you’re going to have to-” 

His hands cupped her cheeks and he laid his forehead to hers. 

She grew quiet as something the Traveler told her came to her mind. She was gushing about Mandalorians and there was something significant about when they touch heads like this. Something about helmets and not being able to touch… kiss? Was this like a kiss? 

Fox’s fond chuckle reached her ears. He pulled his head up. “I could see your brain working a million parsecs away,” Fox spoke some words in Mando’a before speaking a sentence in Basic. “Yes. I will share your home with you,  _ Ner Kar’ta _ .” 

She smiled. “Thanks.” She spoke softly. She reached up and pulled his head down to hers. She closed her eyes and just breathed. His forehead was warm against hers and the cool air swirled around them. Or was that the Force? 

She shoved everything aside and just breathed. Inhale, exhale. There was nothing pressing that needed her attention at the moment. It was just her and Fox. Inhale, exhale. Just the two of them, here at this moment, pressed forehead to forehead. There were no friends coming over, no deadlines coming up, no stories to be written. Hey, she should get around to writing the sequel to the Hobbit. Can’t have a space-themed Hobbit without a space-themed Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

Fox laughed again. “Authors. Your brain just never stops does it?” 

She shook her head, her forehead rubbing up against his. “Nope. Sorry.” 

“It’s alright. I love you anyway.” Fox pulled back and slung an arm around her shocked body. “Come on,  _ Ner Kar’ta _ . If I’m going to be staying with you we need to get a few things.” 

She slowly smiled as her Commander pulled her along. Things might not be okay long term. Not for a while. There was still an Evil Sith Bastard to defeat and there was the peace between worlds that still needed to be talked about. Both sides had some good points. Change needed to happen but not right now. 

At this moment, it was just a Commander and an Author. One a stickler for the rules and the other so insistent on breaking him free. Both in love, despite the hurdles they have yet to cross. 

One day, things would be better and that’s all you can really cling to. 

Hope. 

**Author's Note:**

> MANDO'A
> 
> Al'verde - Commander
> 
> Su cuy'gar, Al'verde - Hello Commander. (lit. You're still alive, Commander)
> 
> Cyar'ika - Darling or Sweetheart
> 
> Or'dinii - Moron, fool
> 
> Hut'uun, Kry'tsad - Cowards, Death Watch
> 
> Ret'urcye mhi, Ner Kar'ta - Goodbye my heart (lit. Maybe we'll meet again, my heart.) 
> 
> Kar'ta - Heart
> 
> Ner Kar'ta - My heart
> 
> Gar. Bid pel. - You. So soft. 
> 
> Nayc, gedet'ye - No, please. 
> 
> 'Lek - Yeah
> 
> Jetii'kad - Lightsaber
> 
> Shebs - backside, rear
> 
> Di'kutla - Stupid
> 
> Vor entye - Thank you (lit. I accept a debt)
> 
> Mesh'la - Beautiful
> 
> Chakaar - Thief, petty criminal
> 
> Cyare - Beloved
> 
> Alor'ad - Captain


End file.
